2025 (Current Year) Faculty Courses School of Environment and Society Department of Technology and Innovation Management Graduate major in Technology and Innovation Management
Information and Service Science for Social System I
- Academic unit or major
- Graduate major in Technology and Innovation Management
- Instructor(s)
- Kazutoshi Sasahara
- Class Format
- Lecture (HyFlex)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 1-2 Sat (CIC)
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- TIM.C516
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2025
- Offered quarter
- 1Q
- Syllabus updated
- Aug 22, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This course will lecture on the theories of how technologies emerge, how technologies evolve by inducing innovation, and how they change economic and social systems. In addition, through group work, students will learn the premises, principles, and challenges of social implementation of digital technologies for changing economic and social systems.
Course description and aims
The goals of this lecture are as follows:
- To understand the evolutionary theory of technology
- To be able to practice the principles of social implementation of digital technology to transform society and economy
Keywords
Combinatorial evolution, governance, innovation, impact, structural deepening, sense-making, technology, risk
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
You will learn the topics listed in the course objectives through group work and discussions based on the textbook and papers introduced in class.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Innovation in energy and public health |
Case studies of innovation in energy and public health |
| Class 2 | Innovation in transportation and food |
Case studies of innovation in transportation and food |
| Class 3 | Innovation in communications and computers, the essence of innovation |
Case studies of innovation in communications and computers, and understanding of the essence of innovation |
| Class 4 | Economics of innovation, False Innovation |
Understanding the basics of the economics of innovation and negative examples of innovation |
| Class 5 | Resistance to innovation, overcoming the lack of innovation in the modern world |
Understanding the factors that resist innovation and the factors that overcome a lack of innovation |
| Class 6 | Group exercises on social innovation projects |
Group exercises |
| Class 7 | Group presentations on social innovation projects |
Group presentations |
Study advice (preparation and review)
It is recommended to read the textbook in advance and study the relevant material after class.
Textbook(s)
Matt Ridley, How Innovation Works: And Why It Flourishes in Freedom, Harper (2020)
Reference books, course materials, etc.
W. Brian Arthur, The Nature of Technology: What It Is and How It Evolves, Penguin (2010)
Evaluation methods and criteria
Class contribution 30%, Presentation 40%, Report 30%
Related courses
- TIM.C517 ： Information and Service Science for Social System II
- TIM.B536 ： Computational Social Science
Prerequisites
None